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The Schengen area was developed by five original member countries with an agreement signed in June 1985. After the passport-free area was arranged was signed an extra convention five years later, according to which the internal borders of the member states were abolished and one single external border was formed. From then on the immigration checks for the Schengen area were carried out according to the identical procedures. Bulgaria aims to become a member of the Schengen area and is technically prepared for that. When this happen and Bulgaria becomes a member state of the Schengen agreement, the country will have to follow common rules in regards to the visas, the external borders, the right of asylum, etc. which regulation are adopted in order to allow the free movement of people within the territory of the member states.

The freedom of movement in the Schengen zone comes with certain compensatory measures, which come to reconcile security and freedom. These measures include improved cooperation, better coordination between the judicial authorities and the police, measures for safeguarding of the internal security and special measures for fighting the organized crime. With all that in mind, the Schengen area soon set up the so called SIS or the Schengen Information System. This is a special database that is used by the authorities of all member countries of the Schengen agreement. Thanks to that sophisticated system, the authorities of the member countries of Schengen are able to exchange information on people and goods.

The Schengen area is a territory which allows free entry and movement of people, who are residents of the member states included in the agreement. Several attempts have been made by Bulgaria in order to enter the passport free Schengen zone. Technically, the country is prepared for that important step, however there are certain issues that the country has to overcome in order to become a member of Schengen. The countries that are included in the Schengen Agreement had abolished their internal borders and have one single external border. In this passport free zone people can travel without the need of visas for the short stays.

In order to guarantee the security in the Schengen zone, the countries do cooperate. What does this include? The police departments in the member countries of the Schengen agreement cooperate and coordinate their efforts, and the same do the judicial authorities. This cooperation in Schengen has been legally incorporated in the European Union with the Amsterdam Treaty from 1997. Yet, not all countries that are cooperating in Schengen are part of the Schengen area. Bulgaria is also one of these countries, yet there are indications that at some point Bulgaria will enter the Schengen zone one it covers all the conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis.

Since 1985 several countries formed a territory without any internal borders and this became known as the Schengen area. The member states of the Schengen area are Germany and France, Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as the Netherlands.

The Romanian Liberal MEP Norica Nicolai recently said that the exclusion of Romania and Bulgaria from the Schengen area may result in a thread to the European Security after the Ukrainian crises that the world faced. According to the Romanian politician, the European Union is now challenged to admit Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area. Otherwise it will risk to allow “gaps to appear in the defenses of Europe.” The Liberal said that now it is time for Europe to show unity, rather than to send signals of division between West and East European countries.

According to the Liberal Norica Nicolai, if the Schengen area is not unified and integrated with Romania and Bulgaria becoming part of the Schengen agreement, this will result in gaps that will appear in the defenses of Europe. Romania and Bulgaria got a formal approval by the European Parliament to enter the Schengen zone back in 2011. Since then, the two countries have been vetoed by the governments of Finland and Netherlands, Germany and France. These vetos were based on different judicial concerns. As the Romanian Liberal pointed out Romania and Bulgaria have been implementing best border control technologies and standards for years and thus they should not be victims of internal political struggles.

The French Ambassador in Romania gave an interview for a local Romanian newspaper, where he admitted that the accession of Romania into the Schengen zone has become a difficult topic for all member states of the Schengen agreement. Mr. Philippe Gyusten in his role as a French Ambassador said that a technical subject as the Schengen basically is has turned into a political one. According to the Ambassador of France, the Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania can advance this year as it will not have a political context or an election context.

There are several stages during which Romania and Bulgaria can become members of the Schengen travel free zone. In fact Romania and Bulgaria have hoped to become members of the Schengen agreement since March 2011. At that time the two countries received several negative reports concerning the Cooperation and Verification and their efforts to enter the visa free zone of Schengen were postponed. Several countries, including France and Germany, as well as the Netherlands think that the two new member states will not be in position to keep their external borders save.

In the beginning of April it became clear that the European Committee plans new regulations for people outside the European Union who wish to visit the visa free Schengen zone for short trips, business meetings and holidays. The European Committee in the face of the Euro Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hopes that these new measures and smarter visa policy concerning the Schengen visas for short stays will attract more tourists, students, artists and business people to Europe.

The offer of the European Committee for alleviation of the Schengen visa requirements include several measures. The first one is for a shorter period for the processing and decision making for granting a visa from 15 days to a period of 10 days. The second one is to give an opportunity for submission of Schengen visa applications in countries of the European Union that are in case the Commonwealth is responsible for examining the application or if there is no representation in the country of application. There are plans for various reductions for the regular passengers, as well as a visa for multiple entries that will be valid for three years.

The rest of the Schengen visa alleviations requirements include a simple application form, a chance for online application, a chance for special schemes for Schengen visa granting at the very border for stays up to 15 days in the travel free zone of Schengen. The European Union will also get the opportunity to issue Schengen visas if the visitor comes for an important event. The authorities are even thinking of a new visa type that will allow the travelers to move into the travel free Schengen zone for a period of up to one year, in case they do not leave the member state they are staying at for a period longer of 90 days. All these changes need to be improved by the European Parliament and the EU Council, however this is expected to happen no earlier than in 2015. In case these changes enter into force, they will apply to all countries in the European Union, the Schengen area and the associated countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.

On the first day of April the European Committee made an offer the provision of an easy access for short-term trips in the Schengen zone. The committee noted that many citizens from countries that are not part of the European Union and want to travel to the countries in the Schengen area, have to face a long and expensive procedure in order to be issued visas, even if they plan just a short trip. Thanks to that offer, it is believed that these visa procedures for short stays will be reduced and simplified. This step is expected to result in less bureaucracy and savings, yet the security level will remain the same.

The easier access to the Schengen visas will increase the number of short stays to relatives and friends, and the number of short business trips. As a result, this will increase the economic activity and will be beneficial for all parties. According to a recent study, the flexible requirements when Schengen visa issues are concerned will result in up to 60 % increase in the short trips in the passport free Schengen zone. People from South Africa and Saudi Arabia, from India, China, Russia and Ukraine will be able to travel more. Bulgaria hopes to become part of the Schengen zone for free traveling by the end of this year. Currently, the Bulgarian citizens do not need visas in order to enter the Schengen travel free area for short periods of time.

In an interview for the Bulgarian newspaper Capital, Mr. Anri Malos the President of the European Economic and Social Council announced that Bulgaria should take certain measures in order to improve its status and appearance among the other countries in the European Union. According to Mr. Anri Malos Bulgaria should make efforts to support its young people, to offer them good education and to create a positive atmosphere of trust. The young people in Bulgaria should be given a feeling of stability and brighter future.

In order for Bulgaria to be accepted by its partners in the European Union and to finally become member of the Schengen agreement, the country has to change its image and should be presented as a beautiful country with a lot of potential in front of the investors and the local young people. Mr. Anri Malos said that the effect of the European funds is easy to be spotted all over the country and these funds helped the local authorities improve the infrastructure of the country and he gave as an example the highway from Sofia to Bourgas. According to Mr. Anri Malos, Bulgaria can now use the European funds and programs investing in the young people and their education and in innovations.

In a recent interview in front of Capital newspaper, the President of the European Economic and Social Council Anri Malos said that Bulgaria has to invest in the education of its young people and in various innovations, in order to improve its image and to become a desired member of the travel free Schengen zone. According to Mr. Malos, the aim of the organization European Economic and Social Council is to stay close to people, to listen to their needs and to help them in giving their best to their own country and the world.

Mr. Anri Malos commented that people in some of the European countries still think that the expansion of the European Union towards East and the acceptance of countries such as Bulgaria and Romania was not a good decision. Why is this so? According to Mr. Anri Malos, the expansion of the European Union was not properly explained to these people as something that is important and necessary. Currently, the French Interior Minister Mr. Manuel Vals is against the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen. Unless the reaction and attitude of these people changes, there will always be politicians that will make use of the situation to chase their own goals.

It seems that for so many years now Romania and Bulgaria dream about being part of the Schengen zone for passport free traveling and this still remains a dream. Recently, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Kristian Vigenin expressed hopes that the bid for entry of his country will finally be considered and that Bulgaria will become part of the visa free Schengen zone. At the same time, Romania intends to put concrete and sharp questions for entering the travel free Schengen zone in front of the leaders of the Council of European Union in May. The intentions of Romania were announced by the president of the county, Mr. Traian Basescu after his meeting with the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria do qualify for Schengen, however their entry is made difficult from certain member countries which are willing to see positive reports of the European Commission for the two countries in order to agree to the extension of the visa free zone of Schengen. It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria are now truly disappointed by the Schengen entry mechanism, which has turned to be a tool for political games. The politicians from the two countries feel that this mechanism is not used for acknowledging the efforts that the two countries have made and are currently making.

The Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Mr. Kristian Vigenin has expressed his hopes about Bulgaria being able to access the Schengen area by the end of 2014. In front of BGNES news agency, the Foreign Minister stated that he does not expect for a decision to be reached on the entry of Bulgaria into Schengen by the end of the six months Greek Presidency in July 2014. Yet, the Foreign Minister hopes that there will be a positive decision on the Bulgarian entry into the travel free zone of Schengen by the end of this year. Mr. Kristian Vigenin informed the news agency that the efforts of the authorities to achieve the goal of Bulgaria being part of the visa free zone continue. He also stressed that the coming new European Parliament elections in May are not the best possible moment to bring up that special issue.

According to the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Kristian Vigenin, Bulgaria was not obliged to take part at the Geneva international peace conference Conference on Syria at the end of January, which was attended by only nine out of the 28 member states of the European Union. Mr. Kristian Vigenin explained though that the refugee issue is among the top priorities and issues to be solved during the Greek presidency of the European Union Council. The rotating presidency of the European Union will be taken over by Italy.